UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, who started his career at welterweight, is exploring a move to light heavyweight. UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes the undefeated fighter could handle the jump if he carefully adds weight.
At UFC 319 in August, Chimaev won the middleweight title by controlling Dricus Du Plessis throughout the fight. He took Du Plessis down 12 times and maintained dominance for over 21 minutes, securing a unanimous decision.
Rogan Supports Chimaev’s Move to 205 Pounds
Rogan on Chimaev’s ability to compete at higher weight:
“I think he can do it,” Rogan said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “I think he can do it if he takes time and puts weight on. Because he’s tall and also the thing is these gaps in wrestling, these gaps in grappling, when a guy’s a really good grappler, and then you’re taking on Dricus, who’s really a striker. He’s a good grappler, a good jiu-jitsu guy, but there’s levels. The kind of guy like Khamzat, like man, you’ve got to be a f*cking Olympic-caliber wrestler to scrap with that guy.”
Chimaev’s Future Plans
Chimaev has expressed interest in a future fight against UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. He has stated that he intends to defend his middleweight title once against a top contender before moving up.
Rogan highlights that Chimaev’s size and elite grappling could make him a serious threat at light heavyweight, emphasizing that his dominance over middleweight fighters like Du Plessis shows his readiness for a bigger challenge.
With a perfect MMA record of 15-0 and a 9-0 UFC record, Chimaev is drawing attention for his ability to potentially dominate multiple weight classes.
